Ninjagirls: Pilot
by timeturner82
Summary: Kaya, Nicole, Zena, and Jayne are just four normal girls in their second semester of college. Well, at least they are until an ancient evil is reawakened and they are the only ones who can stop it. The girls must learn to deal with elemental powers, a strange martial art form, dangerous weapons, freaking dragons, and each other in order to save the world in this Ninjago AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hi there! If you're familiar with the tumblr blog ninjagoquotes, that's me! You might maybe remember that a few months ago I was joking about how my roommates and I shared some character traits with the four ninja. This got me thinking about how the story of Ninjago would unfold in a modern day university setting with rule 63 characters. The product of that is this AU fanfic. Enjoy!

* * *

Nicole balanced on her toe. _Just a little higher_ , she thought, straining her arm to reach the next handhold. Her sweaty palm slipped at first, but eventually she got a good grip, and pulled herself up. She found the next foothold, and let go with one hand to ring the bell.

"Wow! A new record!" Jenny, Nicole's friend called out, looking at her stopwatch.

"And on the hardest side, too!" the gym worker on belay said, as Nicole lowered down.

Nicole started to smile a little bit, but said "Well, I've still got some work to do." She unclipped her harness and thanked her friends.

The rock wall spanned the entire side of the atrium lobby of the gym, the Student Athletic Center of the State University. Anyone entering the gym could see the climbers. Sometimes a crowd would gather to watch, especially if someone was attempting the most difficult section, like Nicole had been, but this time there hadn't been anyone, just the desk attendant, two guys playing ping pong, and an older woman sitting in the corner. Nicole had felt eyes on her as she climbed, and she hadn't liked it. It wasn't as if someone was encouraging her, it had been as if they were testing her.

She shook off the feeling, and headed to the track to run some laps. Nicole felt the need to be active and put herself to the test. The rock wall at the gym wasn't a challenge anymore. She held the time record on it, and had beaten her own record over a dozen times. She was looking into climbing at some nearby cliffs, but she doubted she could put together the money for equipment. A thought briefly crossed her mind _Ask your mom for the money. Tell her it's for ballet shoes._ But Nicole immediately felt guilty. She wasn't a liar. Well, she was. But she wasn't!

Nicole started running faster. Her short, wavy black bob of hair bounced up and down. She kept a steady count of her number of times around the track. She wore a dark gray sweat suit and a pair of beat up sneakers that squeaked occasionally as she ran. And every time she passed the window to the lobby, she thought she saw the old woman staring at her.

* * *

Jayne Walker jogged down the sidewalk, holding an enormous cardboard box with a strange object sticking up out of it. "Oh, excuse me! Pardon me! Watch out!" Jayne said as she dodged around other students, making her way from the engineering wing of the science department to the theater. She had promised to help out with the props for the upcoming production, and had just finished a pair of remote control wings she thought would really add a cool effect to the fairies of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. She wanted to get them to flap on their own, so that it would look like they were really flying, and she had just finished a working pair… but she was late for rehearsal.

Unluckily for Jayne, a huge gust of wind came her way, and caught the lightweight plastic of the wings like a kite. They flew out of the box and up into the air. "No!" Jayne cried, "Wait!" She chased after the wings for a while, but it was too late. They rose higher and higher out of reach. Jayne stopped and reached into her purse, pulling out a small remote. She pressed a button, and the wings started gently flapping as they blew farther and farther away. Jayne sighed. "Well, at least that works," she muttered, and turned to walk on to the theater, feeling downcast.

She saw one of her professors, Dr. Wu, watching the wings as they flew into the distance, then the professor turned to look at Jayne, an odd expression on her face. _Probably thinking what an idiot I am_ , Jayne thought, turning away, and walking to the theater with her head down, the wind blowing her auburn ponytail like a kite.

* * *

Zena had been studying all day. Her classes had begun at eight o'clock in the morning, she had a break for lunch at 11, and after that she had been studying. When she discovered her 3:00 class had been canceled, Zena had made the decision to do something enjoyable rather than studying. It had been a while since she'd gone swimming, she hadn't had the time, so she was excited when she entered the empty pool at the Student Athletic Center, wearing her streamlined black and white swimsuit. _After all_ , she told herself, _it is important to exercise the body as well as the mind_.

Zena took a deep breath in through her nose, then her mouth, and dove into the water. She swam one length, then did a flip turn and came back, and kept going. She swam three lengths before she felt the need to come up for air. Zena surfaced and grabbed the edge of the pool. She pulled off her goggles and looked up to see about twelve students staring at her.

"So you're okay!" A blonde girl at the front of the group said. "We were getting worried!" She laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Zena said. "Did you have the pool reserved? I was unaware."

"Yeah, we did," said a boy with brown hair, "But that's okay, we just changed our practice time. But you were incredible! How far can you go without breathing?"

Zena shrugged, "I've gone farther than I did today. I'm a bit out of practice."

"Have you ever thought of joining the swim club?" the blonde girl asked, "You'd be great on the team! We practice every day."

"No," said Zena, "Sorry, I don't think I have the time, with school and everything."

"Oh, okay," the girl said, "But even if you can't come regularly, feel free to drop by for a practice whenever you can!"

"Maybe," said Zena with a small smile as she climbed out of the pool. "I'll see. But, for now, I need to get going. Enjoy your practice!" She grabbed her towel and hurried out of the pool area.

In the locker room, Zena dried her platinum blonde hair, cut into a sharp bob with straight bangs, and looked into the mirror. She had a duty, and what mattered to that duty right now was excelling in her studies. She couldn't remember much about her past, but one thing had stuck with her, " _Zena, you must protect those who cannot protect themselves_." Someone had given her a mission, someone who had likely been close to her, had cared about her. And Zena fully intended on accomplishing this mission by becoming a doctor, someone who could save people's lives.

As she exited the locker room, Zena noticed a large window on the second floor of the gym, which allowed spectators to look out over the swimming pool. Someone was sitting there, an older woman with white hair. Zena noticed that the woman wasn't watching the swim club practice, but was staring down specifically at her. Zena turned and moved quickly to the door, exiting before any of the swim club members could notice her.

* * *

Kaya slipped through the door, careful to shut it quietly. She slunk along the back of the lecture hall, then down the aisle to take a seat beside her friend Jayne. "Wow, look who made it," Jayne whispered sarcastically. Kaya rolled her eyes and swung her desk arm up, then cringed as it made a horrible squeaking sound. The professor paused a moment in the middle of her sentence to give Kaya a death glare, then continued her lecture. Kaya felt her face grow red.

Kaya had never liked Professor Wu, she thought she was too strict and pushy, and, although Jayne shrugged it off when Kaya complained about it, she swore that the professor had it in for her, always grading her assignments more harshly and calling her out when she messed up. But then again, maybe it was just the subject material. Mythology definitely hadn't been Kaya's first choice for a History credit, but it was all that was left after she had procrastinated selecting her classes last semester, and she guessed that the old professor could sense how much she didn't care.

"So, why were you late?" Jayne whispered, not taking her eyes off the front of the classroom.

"Algebra professor kept us late again," Kaya responded. "I promise I ran all the way here."

"She's gonna kill you," said Jayne. "That's the third time you've been late this week."

"Not if this stupid class kills me first," said Kaya.

Jayne blew air out her nose, trying not to laugh in class. Kaya smiled. She was glad to have a friend like Jayne, even if they didn't really hang out outside of class. The two girls had had a Fine Arts Theatre class together last semester and at first had not liked each other at all. Kaya had thought Jayne was an annoyingly talkative overachiever and a bit of a ditz, and she could see how Jayne might have seen her as "too arrogant and cynical," but over the course of the semester a sense of humor had brought the two together. Whenever Kaya made a sarcastic comment in class, Jayne would laugh out loud, and although Jayne's jokes and puns often made Kaya groan, she still appreciated them. When they had found out they had Mythology 101 together this semester, the two had teamed up to talk all through class, much to the annoyance of those seated around them. Kaya had ended up being a bit of a loner in college, and she was considering asking Jayne if she wanted to be roommates next semester, although, Kaya thought, _She probably already has plans with other friends_.

The raised voice of Professor Wu broke Kaya out of her thoughts. "Now, I hope SOME of you are paying full attention," said the professor, looking directly at Kaya. "Because it's time to change gears a little bit and talk about my area of specialty, local myths and legends. We will start with a story few of you are likely familiar with, but one whose origins lie in this very area. Long ago, there were many people gifted with powers over certain elements, known as elemental masters. These powers were passed down through the generations, and the elemental masters protected the land and its people. In order to aid in this mission, one elemental master, more powerful than the others, developed a style of martial art which incorporated the elemental powers into fighting. She became known as the first spinjitsu master, and she taught her technique to four of her closest allies, the masters of earth, lightning, ice, and fire, as well as her two young daughters. The spinjitsu master also created four golden weapons, one for each of the four elemental spinjitsu masters, which greatly amplified their powers. The weapons were so powerful no one could handle the power from all four at once, and the masters heralded a time of great peace and justice through the land."

"However, darkness can corrupt even the closest of friends, and a large amount of infighting started between the elemental masters of that time. Many lost their powers, faded into obscurity, or even died. The spinjitsu master reclaimed her golden weapons, knowing the damage that could be done with them by her former friends. Not long after, the first spinjitsu master, too, passed away, leaving the four golden weapons to her daughters to protect."

"Unfortunately, the elder daughter was consumed by darkness, and wished to possess the weapons to achieve her own dark ends. A battle broke out between the sisters, and eventually the younger sister won, banishing her older sister to the shadowy underworld. Peace was restored in the land, but the younger sister knew that her sister would one day escape her prison and return for the golden weapons, so she hid them, and placed a guardian to protect each one. And, if one day the weapons were needed again, she left a map with their locations in the care of an honest friend. None of them have been seen since, but they say that the powers of darkness have been growing, and the older sister may soon be free." Wu let her ominous sentence hang in the air before saying, "Please read pages 394 through 412 for next time. Class dismissed."

Students began gathering up their supplies. "Wow, what a weird story," Kaya said. "It sounds like the set up for a lame video game."

"You mean an awesome video game?" Jayne asked. "I thought it was a pretty cool story. Imagine having elemental powers! It'd be like Avatar!"

"Eh," Kaya shrugged. Suddenly she noticed someone standing in the aisle beside her. She looked up to see Professor Wu. _How did she sneak up on me so quietly?_ Kaya wondered.

"Miss Smith, would you come and see me during my office hours tomorrow afternoon, please?" Wu asked.

"Sure thing," Kaya sighed. _Probably going to give me a lecture on the merits of punctuality,_ she thought. She finished packing up her things and headed to her next class.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! I'll try to update regularly, I really will (It's almost summer so here's hoping). This was really fun to write, so please let me know your thoughts in a review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I am so super sorry that it's been so long! This chapter has been a long time in the making; I wrote the first half around the same time as chapter one, and finished the second half just last night. It may have seemed like I gave up on this story but I promise it is far from finished! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Nicole leaned back in the chair. "So what did you get for number three?" she asked.

"I believe it is C," said Zena. The two girls were working on Biology homework in Zena's dorm room, Nicole at the desk, and Zena sitting on her bed. It was around seven o'clock in the evening, and Nicole had come over right after rugby practice. Her hair was still damp from showering. Zena and Nicole had had two classes together last semester, and had found that they got along really well. They were both responsible, self-disciplined, and organized. They were also both studying science and took many of the same classes, since Zena was a pre-med Biology major, and Nicole was majoring in athletic training for the moment, although she wasn't really sure what she wanted to do yet. The two often met up to study together before a big test.

"I think so, too," said Nicole, marking the answer on her paper.

There was a clanging noise from the door, and Nicole turned around to see Zena's roommate come in. She was a short, pretty girl with long, light red hair. She was dressed fashionably in a bright blue jacket, lots of jewelry, and trendy boots.

"Hey!" said the girl, "What's up?"

"Just studying," said Zena.

"Oh, okay, have fun with that," the girl said, and she went into the closet to put some things away.

Nicole had met Zena's roommate a few times before, and it always surprised her how different those two were. Now that she thought about it, it was evident from the layout of their room. The roommate's side was cluttered and colorful with posters all over the walls, while Zena's side was clean and practical.

The roommate came back into the room. "Hi!" she smiled, "It's Nicole, right?"

"Yeah," said Nicole, feeling slightly bad that she had forgotten the girl's name, "And you're…?"

"Jayne," the girl said. "So what class are you studying for?" she asked, and climbed onto her bed.

"Biology," Zena said.

"Ew, well good luck," she said. There was a brief pause before Jayne started speaking again. "So, how was your day Zena? Anything interesting happen?"

"I suppose not," said Zena, "I went swimming."

"Cool!" Jayne said, "I had a pretty good day, well, it started off kind of bad, because I lost a pair of wings for the play that I'd worked really hard on, but I showed my designs to the director, and he really liked them, so he's giving me all the supplies to make them for everyone, so that's good, and then Mythology class was interesting, and they had this really delicious Hawaiian Pizza in the cafeteria, and it has to be like one of the best things I've ever eaten there and-"

"If you don't mind," Nicole said, "We need to get back to studying."

"Oh! Oh, yeah, sure, I'm sorry! No problem!" Jayne said. She grabbed her laptop and put in her earbuds.

Nicole sighed, Jayne hadn't actually annoyed her too much, but she reminded Nicole of some of the girls she used to dance with – fashionable, self-centered, wealthy. Nicole couldn't stand those girls, and she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to stand Zena's sorority girl roommate either.

Zena interrupted Nicole's thoughts, "So on number four I was thinking A made sense, but D is not completely unreasonable. What do you think?"

* * *

 _"_ _Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep!"_

Jayne groaned and turned off her alarm. She sat up and yawned. She had let it snooze for more than twenty minutes already, and if she didn't get up now she was going to be late. Jayne blinked her bleary eyes and looked around the room.

Zena was long gone; her first class would've started about an hour ago. Sometimes Jayne wished she could be more like Zena and wake up early and stuff, but she told herself it was her own fault for always staying up so late on her computer. At least Zena didn't get annoyed with her for staying up while she was trying to sleep, just like Jayne was able to sleep through her roommate getting ready in the morning. Jayne hopped out of bed and got dressed quickly and put on makeup. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door.

As Jayne speed-walked to class, her mind continued to rest on her roommate. _Poor Zena_ , Jayne thought, _always studying, never doing anything for fun._ _I should find something for us to do together!_ Jayne didn't have much of a clue what Zena would enjoy doing, though. Whenever Zena wasn't studying, she would go to the gym to exercise, do yoga, or swim. Jayne appreciated doing those things in moderation, sure, but it wasn't her idea of a good time – it was too monotonous and not exciting enough.

Jayne tried to consider possibilities: a movie night (did Zena even like movies?), dinner out (what would Zena eat, the dish with the most vegetables?), roller blading (sporty enough, but maybe too chaotic for Zena?), the arcade (Zena would probably say "What are we, twelve?").

Jayne decided that the problem was that she knew next to nothing about her roommate. They had been sharing a bedroom, bathroom, and walk-in closet for three quarters of the school year, and Jayne knew nothing about Zena's family, nothing about her interests and opinions, and she couldn't even remember where Zena's hometown was. It made Jayne feel like a horrible friend, but it wasn't like Zena made it easy. Every time Jayne tried to talk to Zena, she would respond in as few words as possible, and with no emotion in her voice except for maybe confusion (if confusion was an emotion?).

Jayne usually didn't mind, she and Zena got along okay, but when she saw Zena with other friends, like that Nicole girl from last night, it made Jayne feel like she was just missing something in the equation of understanding Zena.

It was at this level of frustration that Jayne arrived at the engineering wing for class. She was in the perfect mood to work on some problems that were actually solvable.

* * *

Zena sat in the cafeteria and began eating her lunch of a turkey sandwich with a glass of water while she looked over her Calculus notes. She noticed a shadow hover over, and looked up to see Jayne.

"Hey!" the girl said. "Is it alright if I sit here?"

"Of course," Zena said.

Jayne took the seat across from Zena, and set down a bowl of nachos, and a sandwich piled high with toppings. She took a bite of it before asking, "So, how's your day been?"

"Fine," Zena said, "I have an exam later."

"Ooh, good luck!"

"Thanks," said Zena returning to her notes.

"So," Jayne said, picking up a nacho chip. "Do you have any plans tonight?"

"I will be going to the gym, then studying in our room. Does that interfere with your plans?" Zena asked.

"No – well, I mean yes, because my plans were, well, I was going to see if you wanted to hang out or something?"

Zena looked up confused.

"I mean, we haven't really gotten to know each other."

"But we see each other approximately four hours of every day."

"Yes, but –" Jayne sighed, "Don't you want to do something fun? It's a Friday night."

"What relevance does the day of the week hold?" Zena asked.

"Look, if you don't want to, you don't have to, I just thought I'd invite you. I didn't have any other plans." Jayne leaned back and crossed her arms.

Zena saw that she'd hurt Jayne's feelings. "No, wait!" she said, "I would highly enjoy hanging out. I can reschedule homework for tomorrow. What activities would you suggest?"

"Um, well, there's a party going on tonight. Would you be interested in going?"

Zena stared at Jayne blankly.

"I mean, not like a _party_ party," Jayne quickly explained. "It's a school thing in the University Museum that the History department's putting on. There'll be teachers there and stuff – it's very above board. Anyway, I get extra credit for my mythology class if I go, but there'll be snacks, and games dealing with history I guess, so that'll be fun, and it all seems pretty educational which I thought would be right up your alley. So, do you want to go?" Jayne smiled hopefully.

"Certainly," Zena said. She was touched that Jayne would go to such lengths to request her company.

"Awesome!" Jayne smiled, and continued to eat her lunch, while Zena went back to studying her notes.

* * *

Kaya sat on a bench across from Dr. Wu's office. Another student was in there now, and it did not seem to be going well for them. They exited, holding back tears. Kaya knew it was her turn, and sighed. _Let's get this over with_ , she thought, as she stood and walked into the office.

Dr. Wu sat up straight in her chair behind her desk, her white hair pulled back into a bun. Kaya sat facing her, and leaned back in the chair, crossing her legs. Dr. Wu raised her eyebrows, unamused by this entrance. Kaya knew she must look like a slacker to the professor. Her shoulder length brown hair was layered in such a way that when she pulled it back it looked like a very spiky bun. Her bangs were long, and parted to the side, but they too fell to uneven points. She wore ripped jeans, and an open, red, plaid flannel shirt over a t-shirt.

Wu adjusted her papers, and began. "Miss Smith, I suppose you know that your performance in my class has been less than satisfactory."

Kaya wrinkled her eyebrows, "But I've made B's on all the tests!"

"And I expect better from you. You never pay attention in class. You cannot continue to skirt by on luck and the bare minimum, because one day it may run out. Put some effort into your work, Kaya. You have talent, but one cannot succeed on talent alone. You must see that I've been holding you to a higher standard than most of my students."

Kaya looked up, surprised the professor had admitted it.

"I knew your parents, Kaya. Your father used to work at this university. I am… sorry for your loss," she continued.

Kaya found herself getting angry. So Dr. Wu felt bad about her parents and that's why she was so hard on her in class? That didn't make any sense! And it didn't sound like Wu knew her parents well anyway. After all, they had never mentioned her.

Kaya was about to respond, when Wu said, "In order to save your participation grade in my class, which I will remind you makes up 25 percent of your final grade, I want you to volunteer to help with the History department's party tonight. You can help with one of the games or serve food, whatever you want. Maybe you'll learn something too."

"Sorry, but I already have plans," Kaya lied.

"Really? I assumed you'd be going," Wu said. "Your brother is going to be there, demonstrating some items from your mother's collection."

Kaya pretended to not be surprised by this information. Why hadn't Neal mentioned that he'd be on campus?

"Alright, fine. I'll go," she said, and stalked out of the office, fully peeved.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thanks so much for your response to my first chapter, and for being so patient with me! Please leave a review if you have the time - honestly that's the most motivating thing to help me to write chapters quickly! Let me know how you feel about the adapted characters too! Have a nice day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Woohoo! New chapter's done already! Whew! Thank you so much for your support and kind reviews so far! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Nicole sighed in front of the glass doors of the Student Athletic Center. She read the posted sign again: CLOSED – Until further notice due to air conditioning and heating malfunction. _Great_.

Nicole turned around and wandered down the steps. Well, there went her plans for the evening. Nicole figured she could go running, but it was starting to get dark, and looked like it might rain. At last, she made up her mind to go grab dinner in the Student Union before heading back to her room. The buildings weren't too far apart, and she arrived without any trouble, only to see that the Caf was closed. _Ugh!_ Nicole felt like hitting herself on the head, _Of course! It's Friday. The Caf closes at six on Friday!_

She aimlessly made her way back through the union, wondering what she would do for dinner, until a poster caught her eye. It read: History Department Social! Historians join in the fun with Games, Food, and Interesting Facts! Friday at 7pm in the University Museum. _Well,_ Nicole thought, _That food part sounds intriguing_ , and she started walking to the Museum.

Nicole found the room the party was in pretty easily. The rest of the building looked deserted. There appeared to be about an equal number of adults and students attending, and Nicole worried she would stick out too much – she was not at the right level of fancy for this "social." The adult women wore pencil skirts, and the men wore ties. The students looked a step down in fancy-ness, but Nicole was the only one in sweatpants and a T-shirt. Still, it didn't seem like anyone was noticing her, so she made her way over to a table where food was out. It was just snack-type stuff, but Nicole made a plate of pretzels and some chocolate cake. She moved down the line, to where clear plastic cups of ice sat in rows in front of 2-liter bottles of soda. A girl who looked like a student, with spiky brown hair, stood behind the table. She asked in a monotone voice, "Wha'd'ya want?"

"Uhh, I'll just have water, thanks."

The girl looked put out. "Look, we've just got soda here, your basic, Coke, Sprite, and Mountain Dew, so if you want water, you'll have to take a cup of ice and wait for it to melt, kay? That's all I can do."

Nicole raised her thick eyebrows, and took a cup of ice and left the table. _Wow, she was rude._ Nicole thought. She tried to find a place where she could eat, out of the way.

* * *

"Marie Curie!" Jayne shouted.

"That is correct!" said the enthusiastic history major in a game show host voice. Jayne clapped, and turned to Zena, who offered a small smile. The two had been playing "Women of History Trivia" for the last ten minutes, and they were killing it! Jayne hoped Zena was having a good time, but it was really hard to get a read on her. She thought it might be time for them to move on to something new, so she thanked the student running the booth, who gave them prizes for playing – two little flashlights with the Department of History's logo on them.

"What do you want to do now?" Jayne asked. Zena shrugged. "Let's look around the museum a little bit," Jayne suggested.

"Okay," said Zena.

There were fewer people in the exhibit part of the museum, most of the party was going on in the lobby, but the building was open for the guests to look around. Jayne had been to the museum once or twice, but she hadn't ever looked around a lot. Most of the exhibits were kinda boring, local nature stuff, an old stagecoach, and items from the town's early history. Zena seemed interested though, so that was good. Jayne was from Ninjago, the coastal island where the University was located, so most of the stuff in the museum wasn't new information, but Zena was from somewhere on the mainland, maybe out of state. Jayne really couldn't remember.

The two turned a corner away from a display of turn of the century pawn shop items, onto a dramatically lit aisle of polished weapons and armor – swords, shurikens, helmets – positioned in tall glass cases, hung against a red velvet backdrop. "Woah," Jayne said. "I've never seen this exhibit before."

Zena read one of the informational plaques, "A History of Ninjago's Weaponry and Martial Arts, curated by Dr. Minato Garmadon, Morty Smith, and Rei Smith. Curious."

"Yeah," Jayne said, as she eyed the beautiful gilded weapons. "I'd heard about this stuff before, but I didn't know, I mean – this is actually really cool!"

Zena had a confused look on her face, as she inspected the exhibit. "Something about this seems familiar," she said. Zena turned to Jayne. "Are you aware of the history of these items?"

"Sure," Jayne said, "I remember from Elementary school. Ninjago was an uninhabited island off the coast, and people didn't actually move here until like a little over a hundred years ago. They started farms and stuff, but a group of the founders built that monastery on the mountain at the North end of the island. They were martial arts experts, and they made really fancy weapons like these. They were actually really famous worldwide; it's probably what Ninjago's best known for. But the monastery's been abandoned for like fifty years now."

Zena was still reading about the exhibit. "It appears that there is a legendary aspect associated with these weapons."

"Oh, yeah," Jayne said, "We were just talking about that in Mythology class. There were stories about some these martial artists having elemental super powers. It's pretty cool! I mean, it was probably just a publicity stunt or something. Those stories are from before a lot of people moved here in the '60s and '70s. But it's still fun to think about!"

Just then, the girls heard a strange clattering noise from the next aisle over. They made eye contact, and slowly moved towards the corner to peek around. They hadn't seen anyone else in the museum so far. The two turned the corner, and saw – Nicole, standing with an upside-down plate of cake on the ground.

Nicole looked up, surprised, and blushed sheepishly. "Oh, hey guys."

* * *

Zena helped Nicole pick up the plate and cake pieces. Jayne had hurried off to the bathroom to get paper towels.

"I'm so sorry," Nicole said. "I was just looking for a place to eat where I wouldn't bother anyone."

"It is no bother. I didn't expect to see you here," Zena said, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Yeah, well I wasn't exactly planning on it. Why are _you_ here anyway?"

"Jayne asked me to 'hang out.'"

Nicole rolled her eyes and snorted. "How's that going?"

Almost as if on cue, Jayne returned, arms full of brown towel. "Do you think this is enough?" she asked.

"Should be," said Nicole.

Zena backed up to make room for Jayne, and found herself drawn back to the Ninjago Weaponry exhibit. She could hear the two girls talking from the next aisle over, but as Zena wandered farther into the exhibit, their voices seemed to fade away. Something about these items was so familiar. Zena found the first description plaque, and started scanning it again. She read the whole thing through – twice – but was no closer to finding any clue as to why she felt like she recognized these instruments. Zena gazed up at a polished pair of shurikens, yearning to remember.

Nicole and Jayne rounded the corner, talking to each other, or, rather Jayne was doing most of the talking, but Zena barely noticed. She felt a sort of glimmer, or spark, in her mind. She stared, transfixed, as a reflection appeared on the surface of the shuriken – a woman with snow white hair and thick bangs, like hers, and blue eyes framed by round black glasses, which almost covered the woman's prominent crow's feet wrinkles. The vision – or was it a memory? – was gone in a moment, and Zena realized that Jayne was looking at her, a concerned expression on her face.

Nicole had her back to Zena, looking at the other side of the exhibit. She was exclaiming, "Woah! Now _this_ is my type of museum!"

Jayne stepped closer to Zena and asked quietly, "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I am fine," Zena managed to think clearly enough to say.

Jayne quizzically looked up at the shurikens, but she didn't seem to see anything but her own reflection staring back at her. Jayne shrugged, and moved on, and Zena went the other way, still feeling uneasy, and contemplating on what she'd just seen.

She made her way to a bench, and sat down, to watch the others. On the left, Nicole was taking a picture of a large scythe with her phone, commenting that she wanted to try drawing it later, and she wanted a reference so she got all the details right, and at the end of the aisle, Jayne was straightening her ponytail, using a polished sword as a mirror.

Zena was about to close her eyes to meditate for a moment, and think deeply about what she'd seen – a thousand possibilities were running through her head – when suddenly, the lights went out, and everything was dark.

* * *

Kaya yawned. This "party" was the worst thing ever. No one had stopped by Kaya's table for seven minutes. It seemed that everyone had the refreshments they wanted, and if someone did want more, it wouldn't be a hassle for them to get it themselves. So, Kaya left her post at the beverage table, and made her way around the periphery of the social, watching adults and students chat politely, and play cheesy history based carnival games, like "Revolutionary War Ring Toss" led by a grad student in a tri-corner hat, or "Pin the Continents on the World Map." Besides the game booths, there were also booths for local historians from the community, like a representative from the library's genealogy club, and Kaya's younger brother, Neal, who, at the moment, Kaya saw, was demonstrating a particularly sharp-looking samurai sword to an older couple, going through the poses of how it might be properly held and used. Behind Neal, Kaya saw a selection of swords and other weapons from their family's shop on display.

Neal waved at the couple as they moved along, and Kaya approached her brother. He was just taller than Kaya, and had straight black hair, as neat as Kaya's was messy. The two were only a year apart in age - Neal was a Senior in High School, at the top of his class. He was much better at school stuff than Kaya had ever been. He was also very involved at school, serving on the student council, and playing on the soccer team, which was on a winning streak this season. Kaya was impressed that with all this responsibility, Neal still found time to work at their parent's shop half the time, so she could go to college. Kaya admired her brother's work ethic and responsibility, but she was still his older sister.

"Hey, dork!" Kaya called. She smiled as Neal rolled his eyes. Kaya walked up to the booth. "So, how's it going?"

"Didn't expect to see you here."

"Hey! I am a very deep and multifaceted person! And, also, it's extra credit for Mythology."

"Ah-ha! There it is," Neal said.

"Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be here?"

Neal shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I didn't think it was important. Besides, I was sure you wouldn't come to this thing in a million years – it seems I stand corrected there."

Kaya started to laugh, but then she made herself stern. "Neal, I appreciate this and all, but please, you've gotta let me know about stuff like this. Those weapons are expensive! What if you got robbed?"

"Calm down, Kaya. I can handle myself."

"I know," Kaya said. "But just be careful. I don't know what I'd… I don't want something to happen to you like what happened to Mom and Dad."

Now Neal looked serious. "I know. I promise. You be careful too, alright?" he paused for a moment, and added, "…Loser." The corners of his mouth twitched up into a grin, and Kaya smiled too.

Kaya surveyed the party, and saw Dr. Wu at the far wall. _Of course she's gonna see me not working_ , Kaya thought. She was about to ask Neal if he remembered ever hearing their parents mention Wu, when suddenly, the lights went out, and everything was dark.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So, what do you think? No, seriously, what do you think? - Write a review and let me know! That will motivate me to write more than anything else, honestly. After this chapter, I'd really like to know any questions you have! Things you're confused about or curious about, mysteries you want revealed soon, things you really want to know about the characters or the situation - anything! I hope you have a wonderful day!


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